Two Killed in Monday Crash

Colorado Department of Corrections officials said a correctional facility staff member and an inmate were killed near Genoa late this (Monday) morning.


DOC officials the fatalities happened when a vehicle rolled on westbound I-70 They said the transport originated at the Kit Carson Correctional Facility in Burlington, Colorado, a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and was in route to the Limon Correctional Facility. There were two CCA staff members and nine offenders from the DOC on the van. At this time one CCA correctional officer and one DOC offender have been confirmed dead at the scene. All other offenders have been accounted for and are being treated for any injuries. The Department declines to release names until the appropriate notifications have been made. Colorado State Patrol is investigating the cause of the accident.

Weekend Vandalism Reported In Fort Morgan

Local authorities are investigating some vandalism over the weekend. City Clerk John Brennan says someone caused about 2-thousand dollars worth of damage...






Roger Doll with the Fort Morgan Police Department says the investigation is in its early stages...






TAG: Anyone with information about the weekend vandalism can call Fort Morgan PD at 867-5678 or CrimeStoppers at 542-3411

Wiggins Water Rates Way Up

Wiggins water rates are going up in January for business and residential customers, as the new well project is in the works. Residents will see a forty dollar a month increase in the rates, while commercial customers will see a fifty dollar a month increase. The town council approved the increases last week. Loan payments to the USDA are already being paid, since they're the ones who are helping to make the project happen.

Log Lane Village Gives Raises

People who work for the town of Log Lane Village will see a 50 cent an hour increase in their pay in 2012, as the Board of Trustees adopted the budget last week. Log Lane Village has five employees and trustees said they could afford the raises. Two of the trustees abstained from the vote since their wives work for the town. The town also set it s mil levy at just over 34 mills, which is where its bee for a few years. Officials said that should bring in about 62 thousand 600 dollars in property taxes next year.

Be Ready for Onslaught at Post Office

Expect long lines at local post offices today. The U.S. postal Service says today will be the busiest mailing day of the year, as people scramble to get holiday gifts and cards in the mail in time for Christmas. You have until December 21st to guarantee items will be shipped in time for Christmas.

Small Plane Makes Forced Landing On Road In Longmont

(Longmont, CO) -- Police say a small single-engine plane made an emergency landing on Hover Road in Longmont. The incident reportedly took place around 5:30 p.m. yesterday about a half-mile from Vance Brand Airport. 9NEWS reports the single-engine Piper is registered to the Journeys Aviation flight school.

Lego Mania to Let Loose at Library

The popular LEGO Mania Block Party @ Your Library will return to the Fort Morgan Library and Museum Services in January. Sign-up for the event begins Tuesday, Dec. 27th, and closes at 5:00 pm the day before the event, Friday, Jan. 13th.

Kids ages 6 and older are invited to participate in this fun and educational team activity on Saturday, January 14th from 10:00 am to 12 noon in the Children's Library, located at 414 Main St.

Registration is limited to the first 80 kids and early registration is encouraged to hold your spot. There has been a waiting list for this activity in the past.

NEXT GENERATION GPS

DENVER (AP) — The future of the Global Positioning System is taking shape in a vast clean room south of Denver, where workers are beginning to assemble a new generation of GPS satellites touted as the most powerful, reliable and versatile yet.

The Congressional Budget Office says the new satellites will improve the accuracy of military and civilian GPS receivers to within three feet, compared with 10 feet now.

The new satellites are called Block III. They'll have additional civilian signals that offer more precision and make more navigation satellites available to receivers. One of those signals is brand new and the others are already in the first stages of deployment.

Col. Harold "Stormy" Martin of the Air Force Space Command says Block III is a big jump from previous systems.

Report: Colo taxpayers pay millions in union costs

DENVER (AP) - Budget documents from 20 Colorado school districts show taxpayers spent more than $5.8 million over the past five years for the activities of teachers unions under their collective-bargaining agreements.

The Denver Post reported Sunday that it analyzed spending at the state's 20 largest districts with such agreements.

Costs ranged from $1.3 million in the Douglas County School District since 2007 to zero in the Mesa County Valley District.

Some districts pay for salaries for full-time union leaders, leave for teachers to attend union conferences and hiring substitutes for teachers who were out on union business.

Critics including Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton say taxpayer money is being used to benefit unions, not children.

Union leaders say the time teachers take away from the classroom for meetings and training helps students.